A Brief History of Slots
Introduction
For many years now slots are being the most popular game in an online casinos. Not a day goes by without a new slot being released and people around the world choose their casino according to the games variety it has to offer them. Software providers all over the globe are focusing on developing the greatest games and be the best in a multi billion dollar industry. But how did it all began?
Let’s Go Back
Well, here’s a fun fact: the first Slot Machine wasn’t even in a casino. It was invented by mechanic Charles Fey in 1895. He devised a version of a drum game with three reels and called it the Liberty Bell (because that was one of the symbols on the reels) and the machine was actually at his auto shop in San Francisco for customers to play, while they waited for their cars to be fixed.
It became so popular that casinos like karamba started buying them to give gamblers something to do, when the table games were occupied. That’s how later on the modern “slot machine” was born, and since then Charles Fey is called “Father of the slots”.
But some even go a few years before, to 1891 and the company Sittman and Pitt in Brooklyn. They developed a poker machine with five drums, each holding 50 cards. The game was based on poker, but it had a coin slot, that’s why it is considered to be the precursor of the slot machine. And Sittman & Pitt are called the grandparents of the slots machines. Way to go Brooklyn!
Of course, the history won’t stop there – many variants of the slot machine was developed through the first half of the 20th century. The important year is 1963, when company named Bally created the first fully electromechanical slot. Bally, by the way, is and creating great games since then, and active until today.
The next milestone happened in the 70s, with the invention of video slot. It was developed in 1976 by Kearny Mesa in Las Vegas, and two years later was already approved for use. In the following years video slots almost completely replaced their mechanical ancestors.
The next change came with another technology jump, and we are talking, of course, about the invention of the internet. That’s when the online slots came to live, and there was no turning back. In 2010’s mobile slots conquered the top spot, and now you can play online slots from your smartphones or tablets anywhere.
Today, like we said, slot machines is a universal industry and one of the most popular pastimes in the world. So we invite you to play at one of the casino we’ve reviewed for you.